Pain and Pleasure
by Higuchimon
Summary: What is the line between pleasure and pain? Between winning a game and losing it? Between sacrifice for those one loves and surrender? [minor alternate universe]


**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters presented here and am not making any profit off of this whatsoever.  
**Title:** Pain and Pleasure  
**Word Count:** 3,242  
**Rated:** R  
**Romance:** Yami no Malik x Yami no Yuugi  
**Notes:** This takes place a few years after the Ceremonial Duel and was written for the fourth season of the Yu-Gi-Oh Pairings Challenge. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.  
**Summary:** What is the line between pleasure and pain? Between winning a game and losing it? Between sacrifice for those one loves and surrender?

* * *

"I want you to hate me." The shadow's voice was soft as one sharp-nailed finger trailed down Atemu's throat. The Pharaoh jerked away, only to find that moving very much wasn't possible. Chains of some unknown substance held him where he was. He couldn't even bend his head enough to see them all that well.

"I already hate you." He snapped the words out, staring into the mad violet eyes of Malik's darkness. He had _thought_ they'd gotten rid of this creature forever years ago, at the end of Battle City. But here it was again, staring him down.

"Not enough." Again that nail came down his throat, a little harder this time, and Atemu bit back a gasp as blood trickled down suddenly. "You can never hate me enough."

Atemu wasn't all that certain about that. Though the question was a little interesting, if not what he wanted to think about right now. How much _was_ enough? How much could you hate someone? Especially someone who no longer existed.

He was about to ask the question of just how the darkness had returned when the creature moved in more closely and pressed their lips together. It wasn't the kind of gentle kiss he had observed between Yuugi and Anzu, but something savage and dark that sucked his breath away and refused to give it back.

Even as the kiss deepened, Atemu felt hands touching him, and he realized belatedly that wherever his clothes were, they were not on his body. Nor was Malik's shadow wearing anything. He couldn't even be certain at the moment if he were upright or horizontal.

The darkness's lips left his, but he still couldn't breathe very well, much less speak. Minor incoherent gasps were all that he could manage as the creature nipped down him, those dangerous nails scraping at his flesh, drawing little streaks of blood that the other would occasionally also lick at, sending shots of pain all through him.

"If you've forgotten, I like hurting people," the creature murmured, moving to whisper the words into Atemu's ear. "And I think I've found a very _interesting_ way to hurt you."

Atemu shook his head, doing his best to recover what dignity that a pharaoh could have while chained and naked in the presence of one of their greatest enemies. "Do your worst!" Since obviously the shadow wasn't going to settle this with a duel, he would have to endure whatever it was. Whatever kind of game this was, he knew he could win it in the end no matter what. He _was_ the King of Games. The only one who had ever truly beaten him was Yuugi, and this beast wasn't him. So he knew he would win.

"I will." The dark reflection leaned in closely again, and Atemu gasped as he realized all over again the implications of them both being naked and so very _close_ to each other. "This isn't the kind of game you're used to, _Pharaoh._ This is _my_ game, and you can't win it."

Just what kind of hurting the creature had in mind Atemu didn't know. But he was absolutely determined to withstand it. Cutting into him with his nails was probably part of it. But compared to the pain of the attack of the Winged Dragon of Ra, that was _nothing_, and he was certain the other knew it. So it had to be something else.

Malik's shadow began to lick down him again, his tongue leaving a faint damp trail across Atemu's chest until he reached his stomach. His fingers moved teasingly across the bronze skin, his lips and tongue traversing untouched territory. Atemu scarcely realized what was going on until he gasped suddenly. Whatever it was the beast was doing, it felt _good_.

Sinfully good. _Repulsively_ good.

Atemu swallowed, absolutely certain he knew what kind of pain the darkness had been talking about now. He wanted to be wrong, but he wasn't going to ask, either. Some questions were just better _not_ asked. He started to pull at the restraints again. There had to be a way out of this.

Maybe…the only way out would be to _not_ play along with the sick game? It wasn't his habit, but he had read of a few games, mostly made in the modern world, where the only way to win was not to play at all. This had to be one of them.

"I'm not going to play along with you!" he declared as proudly as he could. "You'll not-"

Whatever else he was going to say was cut off with a knife placed rather firmly on his neck. Atemu, of all people, did not fear death, but the surprise was enough to silence him for a moment as the dark beast stared him down.

"You'll play." The words were certain and solid. "Because if you don't, I'll find another game partner. Perhaps _Yuugi_ would like to entertain me in your place." Before Atemu could even draw breath to respond, the creature continued. "And don't even attempt to call this _cheating_. You can quit, and I will set you free and bring Yuugi or Jounouchi or Anzu or any of your precious friends to take your place here. It is _up to you_."

There was absolutely nothing that Atemu could say to that. There was no way that he would ever let any of his friends have to deal with what was going on here. He didn't even know if _he_ could do it, but he had to be able to do more than they could. If anyone could survive this game, then he could, much more easily than they.

"What are the terms of this game?" he asked at last, and the darkness smiled.

"The name of the game is _pleasure and pain_." One finger ran down his chest again, swirling around his navel and then back up to his throat. "I'm going to pleasure you in every way that I can, and it will _hurt_ you so much that I am the one giving you this pleasure. You can't tell me that it isn't." Atemu said nothing. The beast spoke the truth, after all. "There is a way you can win." He leaned in and whispered softly in Atemu's ear. "When I ask if you want more, tell me no…and _mean it_."

His tongue darted suddenly inside Atemu's ear, caressing softly, and Atemu tried to pull away on instinct. The darkness only laughed as he did. "You can try to get away as much as you like. You can _do_ anything you want. But the game ends when I win."

"Don't you mean…when one of us wins?" Atemu gasped, finding himself short of breath as the shadow's hands began to caress his hips and farther downward.

"No. I don't." The creature straddled Atemu's hips and stared down at him, eyes gleaming cruelly. "Pain and pleasure can be the same thing. Too much pleasure and it becomes pain. Too much pain and it becomes pleasure." One hand closed quite firmly over Atemu's length and began to slowly stroke up and down. "You'll find that out before we're done."

Atemu wanted to close his eyes, but he had never been one to hide from his enemies, no matter what they were doing to him. Instead, he glared with all the strength that he could muster. "And how long will this game go on?" He prided himself on how steady his voice was, despite the first hints of enjoyment that were sparking through him at the teasing touch.

"Until I win." The other laughed briefly and coldly. "I should let you know…I don't tire like a human body would. Like _your_ human body will." His hand sped up briefly, while the other wandered over what parts of Atemu's body he could reach at the same time. "No one will be able to find you here. This is _my_ world. I would say that you're at my mercy…but I'd have to have some for that to be true."

"As if I'd ever expect you to have any," Atemu ground out. It wasn't easy speaking, not with how good that taunting, teasing, far too _good_ touch felt. He didn't know where or when or how the shadow could have gained such knowledge. He himself knew the basics of how a man and a woman had sex, but he'd never bothered himself with learning any other way it could happen. He'd always been too busy learning new methods of gaming. Now, he regretted that focus, just a little.

The darkness only smiled, a very unpleasant sight, as he continued to play with Atemu's body. Then, right on what Atemu sensed would be the verge of the peak of the pleasure…he stopped. Completely, removing his hands from Atemu. He was still on top of him, but other than that, they were not touching at all.

Atemu was more than a little surprised to hear a startled noise come from his lips. He hadn't wanted that to…to start? To stop? He shook his head; he wasn't going to lose this game so easily! He sealed his lips and refused to say anything at all. The other only smiled even more, and it was no more pleasant now than it had been the first time.

The shadowborn creature moved only a little at first, then more and more, grinding against him, the friction startling to begin with, but growing more and more intense and delicious with every motion. Atemu bit his lip, not caring how much it hurt, as long as it was pain that he inflicted on himself, and not this damnable pleasure. He wasn't even close to wanting more of it, but there was always that chance that he might slip. He refused to do so. Not _now_, not when this game had only just begin. He would not go down without a fight.

Once again, just when it grew to the point that Atemu was certain it would overwhelm him, Malik's darkness pulled away entirely, leaving him panting and breathless. Atemu bit back another unexpected noise, not certain of what it would have been, only certain that he didn't want to make it at all. He would _not_ surrender.

"Pleasure and pain," the creature whispered, just barely audible. "Pain and pleasure. All the same thing, really." Before Atemu had time to gather his thoughts, he darted back down, and this time his mouth settled to doing what his hand had done before between Atemu's legs. The heat of his mouth was entirely different from the hand, sending what was left of Atemu's consciousness and rational thought spinning helplessly through his mind.

What small part of Atemu's awareness that was still taking note of what was going on wondered if this time he would once again be left hanging on the brink, or if this demon would actually finish what he was starting. He didn't want to give in, he _refused_ to give in, but with that peak so very close and yet so far away…he might have been called a god on Earth during his days as Pharaoh, but he was still only human.

He also briefly noted that the darkness's hands were slowly caressing and toying with his buttocks and the cleft between them, and when one finger slid within, there was no way he could stop the noise that came spiraling out of his throat: a sound of pleasure, even if he could have denied it. At the moment, that was completely impossible. As was coherent thought.

The beast knew it as well; Atemu could see his eyes and his expression every now and then, and that knowledge was written clearly there. Atemu still refused to turn away, facing his enemy. This was no worse than seeing the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon for the first time. He would _not fail_.

That finger that was within him curled slightly, and a _place_ was touched, and Atemu's hips bucked furiously as for the first time he orgasmed. The other licked up the results, his eyes mocking and smug, then licked his lips. "No," he murmured. "We're not even close to being done yet, _Pharaoh._ This is still just the beginning."

Atemu had absolutely no idea if he were afraid of those words, or if he welcomed them.

Whatever the creature was doing wasn't done yet, it appeared, as he worked that finger in and out, adding another shortly. Atemu tried to catch his breath, hoping he could think clearly again and work out a way to stop this. It couldn't possibly _all_ feel that good, could it? Not when it was someone that he hated this much. Not when it was someone that he wanted to seize around the neck and strangle until there was nothing left, not even a hint of a memory.

Not when it was someone who had just added a third finger, and all three felt so _strange_ inside of him, where he'd never felt anything like this before. The demon worked them carefully, almost as if he were trying not to hurt Atemu, and the pharaoh tried to think about why. There had to be a reason for it. He realized belatedly that those fingers had also been coated with something slick and cool, and every now and then, one of them would brush past that spot again. It was never enough to the point that he orgasmed again, but just like before, it was maddening to be teased like that.

"What are you doing?" Atemu asked. He wanted to ask something else, but that was all he really had the mental clarity for at the moment, and he wasn't even certain if he could be aware enough for the answer.

"Getting you ready," the other replied, and Atemu gasped softly as that spot was once again teased. "You're going to _love_ what comes next, Pharaoh." He laughed cruelly. "Even though _you'll_ be what…or who…comes next."

Then those fingers were out, and the darkborn creature moved so the tip of his own penis was just outside of Atemu's rear. He looked up to meet Atemu's eyes and a cruel smile twisted his features. "Tell me no…if you can. Tell me you don't want this. _If you can._"

Was this it? Was this what he'd mentioned about how to win the game? Atemu started to tell him no, when something else crossed his mind: the rest of the conditions for winning. He had to say no and mean it. Could he now? The pleasure had been mind-blowing, in more than one way, and the pain of it being _this_ person, this creature, was just as intense as well, in a different way. He hadn't ever thought of if he would want someone else to be doing this. Frankly, the thought of sex or romance had never crossed his mind before this moment.

He wasn't supposed to want this to happen. That, he was certain of. He had been abducted, he still didn't know how, and was being virtually raped. He was not _supposed_ to want this to go any farther. He wanted to be able to say no and mean it, and he thought that he could.

_What happens to Yuugi? What happens to Jounouchi?_ The beast had threatened them before, and Atemu was abruptly certain that if he won now, the creature wouldn't take his defeat gracefully. It would be taken out on those that he cared about the most in all the world.

He couldn't let that happen. No matter the cost to himself. He'd given up his life once before to save the world. Certainly he could give up something this small to save his friends.

He did not want this to happen. He didn't want to be here. No matter how good it felt, he was certain of that. But he could not say what he needed to in order to stop it.

Some sort of tension went out of him, and Malik's shadow laughed cruelly. "I win." As if in proof of that, he slowly began to penetrate Atemu, taking him inch by inch. Atemu still refused to close his eyes. He didn't consider this a defeat. He had _chosen_ this, for the sake of those he loved. It was a victory, if not the usual type he had. When this night was over, he would still emerge himself, no matter what the creature thought.

Feeling something inside of him was like nothing he'd ever experienced. The preparation, the fingers, had been _nothing_. This was pleasure of a higher order than he'd been prepared to deal with, as the shadow moved in and out, back and forth. Again Atemu's comprehension and focus began to break down as the beast rained down impossibly soft kisses on every part of Atemu that could be reached. And at the same time, his nails dug in, sending waves of pain through him to match the pleasure.

Pain and pleasure. The same thing. Was it true? Was the beast _right_ about that? Atemu's mind, such as it was given what was going on, wandered about that thought, somewhat poking at it. It wasn't one he'd ever encountered before. He'd seen how the darkborn had enjoyed torturing Jounouchi and Mai when they'd dueled against him in Battle City, and he'd experienced something of it when _they_ had dueled each other. This was something else altogether.

Then that one particular spot was struck again, and every bit of sense that Atemu had was scattered to the four winds, unable to be touched again. He threw his head back, inarticulate noises crawling their way out of his throat, soaked in sweat and bleeding from where the nails had struck.

That was only the beginning, just as the creature had promised. Atemu lost track of all time and of what was happening to him, only that there was pain and there was pleasure and he couldn't have told at any given moment just which of them shot through him. There was no rhythm or rhyme to any of what happened, other than Malik's shadow was always the one who dictated what happened, and Atemu obeyed. At first, he was able to keep in mind that this was for the others. They didn't need to suffer like this. He could deal with it. He was the Pharaoh, and it was for them.

He didn't notice when the thought was gone, torn away by the pleasure and the pain.

There was no way to tell just how long everything had been going on. He just knew that he could hear that voice, sinfully sweet and seductive, whispering in his ear. One simple question, repeated until he understood it.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Stop? Stop the pain, stop the pleasure? No. Atemu didn't want that. He wanted more. There was supposed to be, he thought, a reason he didn't, but he couldn't remember it anymore. It was all gone in the haze. "No…I don't…"

The darkness of Malik Ishtar laughed softly as his new toy answered him, and slowly stroked the side of his hand against his cheek. It was over. It didn't matter if the Pharaoh hated him or loved him. Those words had only been a part of the greater scheme of revenge. He was triumphant at last. He had _won_.

And that was the greatest pleasure of them all.

**The End**


End file.
